Lar España Puts Assets Worth €380M up for Sale

2 December 2017 – Expansión

After more than three years of actively making purchases, Lar España, the Socimi in which Pimco holds a stake, is entering a new phase. The firm, which presented the pillars of its 3-year business plan to analysts on Friday, announced that it is going to put assets worth €380 million up for sale. It expects to use the resources to distribute dividends, gain financial muscle to continue with the retail developments already underway and take advantage of potential purchase opportunities.

As part of this process, Lar will sell off its entire office portfolio, comprising four buildings, three in Madrid and one in Barcelona, worth €170 million in total. In September, the company sold one property located at number 336 Calle Arturo Soria (pictured above) to Colonial for €32.5 million.

To this figure, Lar España will have to add the €110 million that it expects to raise from the sale of its stake in the luxury housing development Lagasca 99, which it owns jointly with Pimco. The companies, which have already sold more than 70% of the development, plan to hand over the homes during the second or third quarter of next year. Moreover, the group plans to sell non-strategic assets, as well as those that have completed their cycle of maturity in the portfolio, for another €100 million.

In parallel, the group explained its investment plans for the assets in its portfolio. The firm is going to spend €247 million on capex. Of the total, 80% will be allocated to some of the retail developments underway, such as Vidanova Parc (Sagunto), which will open its doors in 2018 and Palmas Altas (Sevilla), which will be launched in 2019. The remaining 20% will be used to renew its existing asset portfolio.

In terms of new investments, the company has identified purchase opportunities amounting to €220 million in total and is already analysing almost 115,000 m2 for a number of operations, all retail spaces. Lar plans to close the year with assets worth €1.5 billion, of which 73% correspond to shopping centres.

In terms of the relationship with its manager, the President of Lar España, José Luis del Valle, expects to renew the contractual relationship with Grupo Lar, which is due to end in 2019. “They have been willing to adapt the contract to the development of the company and the markets”, said the group’s President. Last year, Lar’s managers agreed to lower their variable salaries and assume the difference between the share price on the stock market and the NAV, in an attempt to calm criticism from several investors.

Original story: Expansión (by Rebeca Arroyo)

Translation: Carmel Drake